![]() Midroll ads or announcements can act as a mental break for listeners, giving them a moment to reset and refocus. Feed little bits of information as opposed to revealing your point early. If your guest is stuck focusing on a specific topic, interject with a leading question. You can do this by adding a few personal anecdotes to help bolster your point. So, how do you hold a listener's attention, especially if you're talking about a heavy subject or the topic is particularly dry?īreak up large chunks of information into digestible podcast segments. ![]() While there are no strict rules on the ideal podcast length, focusing on a single point for minutes on end can drive listeners to distraction. Regardless of how enthralling the subject matter may be, there is such a thing as too much information. If you have a particular point of view, express it! Tell personal stories, recount your mistakes, laugh, and above all, be human.Ī human's attention span averages around the eight-second mark, a second less than a goldfish. Audiences love a host that shows their vulnerability, genuineness, humor, and individuality. The best way to create these relationships is just to be yourself. If you're striving to be an engaging podcast host, this parasocial interaction and deeply personal connection is something you should be adopting. What this means for hosts is that there is a lot of room for authenticity. ![]() In a recent survey, 83% of podcast listeners said their favorite podcast hosts felt like friends.Ĭonsidering that over half the US population alone is tuning into podcasts daily, it appears that most of us are just looking for a no-strings-attached buddy. This phenomenon is known as parasocial interaction, a notion coined by sociologists Donald Horton and Richard Wohl. "To my relief, my actual friends seem to feel the same way about the podcasts they listen to." "I think of podcasters as my friends-and I am not alone," explains Rachel Aroesti, a writer for the Guardian. Someone is literally speaking to you, on your headphones, in your personal bubble. Podcasts are an incredibly intimate medium. If the content appears to be unscripted and personal, the show tends to score higher in the Apple Podcast ratings, regardless of genre, speaker, or topic. Listeners value a host's authenticity over almost every other podcast component. Then, take action, improve, develop, and create the kind of content your listeners want to hear. If your listener base cares about you at all, they will gladly chime in if you ask them for feedback.įeedback is crucial for evolving your podcast, so if something isn't working and your audience is telling you, LISTEN. ListenĪ good host knows when they're heading in the right direction, largely thanks to their audience. Everything you do and every piece of content you create is in service to that one person. Give them a name, age, occupation, home life, and so on. You wouldn't try to sell scuba diving flippers to a long-distance runner-so why should your podcast be any different? So, who should you be speaking to?ĭefining an ideal listener (also known as an avatar) will give you a clearer vision of the content you should be creating. Appealing to all might feel like the ideal selling point, but it could affect how you focus your marketing efforts. Your podcast audience shouldn't be "everyone." A podcast made for every Tom, Dick, and Harry will often lack personality, direction, and meaningful content. Taking this approach helps listeners connect with you and your content on a much more emotional level. So, you need to be tapping into what they need the most.Ī good podcast host should speak to the audience almost as if they are friends. ![]() After all, the end result is for them, not for you. Your audience plays a big part in how you work as a host. It's well documented that listener trust will spill over into a host's other endeavors, including following them on social media, purchasing products or services, converting into a client, or simply becoming a brand advocate.Īs you research, formulate a bullet list of all the important and valuable takeaways from your findings and use this list as a reference guide. It's that trust that will resonate beyond just downloads and listens. If you constantly have well-informed content and push conversations with great guest questions, you start to build a foundation of trust. One of the primary purposes of starting a podcast is to be the "go-to" guy or gal within your specific industry or niche. ![]() Having a solid understanding of a topic can offer a different perspective, give you focus, and fuel a more profound understanding that will benefit your listeners.Ī great host can provide hard-to-find information that targets a listener's specific pain point or knowledge gap. While no one expects you to be an expert, it's never wise to go into an episode cold. ![]()
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